Not Just Another Patient part 10
A/N: Does anyone else have the problem of forgetting their own characters? I'll go to write something and I'll be like 'oh wait how old is this character' or 'how did Niff meet in this universe'? It's really confusing. I'm pretty sure some of my readers might know my characters better than I do. Okay so this takes place right after part 7 (Skyler's first appointment)
ALSO: Have ideas for this story? Let me know and I'll try to include it.
Another also: I'm changing what I originally said. Aurora is blonde.
"Hey dude," Skyler greeted, sitting down next to Aurora in their early morning math class. They were both a few minutes early.
"Hey," Aurora greeted. "Did you get my text from this morning?"
"No, I woke up late and had to rush. Why?"
"Oh," Aurora whispered. "My dad wants you to come to the office today after school. He can get you in to finish up around 5:00."
Skyler's face fell at the topic. She felt really uncomfortable talking about it. "When he said this week I didn't think he meant today. It's only Monday. I can't today, I've got plans with Ash."
Aurora rolled her eyes. "You really should just get it done. Are you sure you can't come today?"
"Yeah, I'm sorry. I'll try to do it some other time this week," Skyler stated.
Aurora frowned. "Are you sure you aren't lying to me? I mean I know how you get in the chair..." she trailed.
Skyler quickly quieted Aurora down with a threatening look. "Shut up, don't say anything related to—" she paused, "that place."
Aurora looked at her knowingly. "Yeah, well you better make it this week or I'll have to say something loud enough for people to hear."
Skyler shot her a massive bitch-glare. "Try me Aurora, try me. I trust you and if you break that trust you won't get it back," Skyler said seriously. She couldn't have anyone know about her phobia, it was embarrassing as hell.
Aurora's expression softened. "Okay, I won't say anything. You better not be lying though, you have to face this before anything gets worse."
Skyler nodded, she agreed. The only problem was she just lied. The conversation stopped when the teacher walked in.
Sitting down at her table for lunch Skyler sighed, she was really stressed out. Her nerves eased up a little though when Ashton sat down next to her.
"Hi," she said, trying to hold back a smile at the sight of him.
"Hey," Ashton gleamed.
"Do you want to go to the mall with me this afternoon? I know it's a little last minute but I really need to get out of the house."
Ashton frowned. "I want to, but I can't. I promised my mom I would help clean the garage today. I really can't put it off anymore, I've been putting it off all weekend."
Skyler took in a calming breath. "It's okay, go help your mom. We can do something some other time."
Right after she said that Aurora sat down across from Skyler and Ashton. "Hey love birds," Aurora cooed.
Skyler rolled her eyes. "We are just friends."
Aurora winked. "Okay, well, where are you guys going this afternoon and why am I not invited?" she teased.
Ashton spoke up now. "What do you mean?" He then looked to Skyler.
Skyler shrunk into her seat, she just got caught.
"Well then it looks like you'll still be coming with me then?" Aurora asked pointedly.
Skyler went pale, which made Ashton confused. "Are you okay, hun? What's Aurora talking about?" He then looked to Skyler, then Aurora.
"Oh, it's nothing. I just have to help Aurora with a project."
Aurora snorted at that. "As if I would need your help with school stuff. I'm smart enough for the both of us."
Ashton looked even more confused. Aurora then realized she should have lied with Skyler, she honestly forgot for a moment how embarrassed Skyler was.
"Skyler?" Ashton questioned, looking at Skyler with a concerned expression.
Skyler blushed at the attention on her. "I'm okay, Ash. Don't worry about it. If it was important I'd tell you."
"Whatever it is it's clearly making you upset. If it's affecting you like this then it's important," he pressed.
"Ashton, drop it. It's not something I want to talk about. Aurora is just making a big deal out of something simple."
"Oh, I'm the one making a big deal out of something simple," Aurora mumbled under her breath.
"Okay," Ashton said, throwing his hands up in a dramatic act of submission, but ended up grinning cutely. "If you want to tell me though, I'm here to listen."
Skyler smiled gently. "I know, thank you for that."
After her last class of the day Skyler hurried to the bus area, only to be caught around the wrist by Aurora.
"Aurora, what? I need to get home," Skyler whined.
"Nope, you're riding home with me. Papa is picking me up and you're joining. Then at around 4:30 we are going to the office," Aurora explained smoothly, pulling Skyler along.
Skyler dug her heals into the ground. "Stop, stop! I'm not ready!" she said in a harsh whisper.
"I can physically drag you to the car or you can walk like any normal person would do," Aurora whispered back.
Skyler complied, walking to the car with a slight pout. Once they got to the car they were greeted with a smiling Jeff.
"Hi girls, how was your day?" he asked, starting the car up again.
Skyler just glared at Aurora who shot back an innocent smile.
"Ooh, that bad?" Jeff mused.
Skyler then passive aggressively shoved in her earbuds and put on some music. She felt that Let Yourself Go by Green Day fit her current mood.
Once they were back at the house Jeff immediately got to work grading papers.
"Aurora, remind me when we need to leave," Jeff said before the girls could walk back into her room. "The office closes at 4:00, right? So we'll leave in like an hour and a half."
"Okay, papa," Aurora chimed.
The girls walked into Aurora's room, which was covered in posters ranging from tv shows to books.
Skyler, who still had her earbuds in, sat on the end of Aurora's bed.
Aurora then playfully jumped on Skyler's back and pulled out both of her earbuds.
"Stop being emo and try being social for a change," Aurora went on playfully.
Skyler rolled her eyes, aggressively turning off her phone and plopping onto the bed. She then looked at Aurora expectantly.
"Down girl, I don't have a cookie for you," Aurora quipped, smiling at herself.
Skyler huffed in response.
Aurora was determined to lighten Skyler's mood, so she went on. "Okay, so there are three guys sitting in a boat with four cigarettes. They don't have anything to light them with, so one of the guys throw out a cigarette. The whole boat then becomes a cigarette lighter."
Skyler looked at Aurora for a few seconds, trying to understand the joke. After about 6 seconds her face lit up in amusement and she let out a laugh.
Aurora looked satisfied.
From there Skyler's mood lit up. The two girls got into a deep conversation about Harry Potter conspiracy theories from there.
"No, but what if the Durleys weren't actually terrible people? I mean they were living with a hocerux. I mean in Deathly Hollows it's proven that hoceruxs make people act bitter. Ron got extremely jealous when he walked in on Harry and Hermione dancing and straight up left them. Ginny almost died as a result of Tom Riddle's diary. So tell me it isn't a possibility," Skyler explained with great enthusiasm.
"Oh wow," Aurora awed. "But wouldn't have everyone around Harry have been affected?"
Their conversation was cut off by Jeff knocking on the door. "We need to go girls."
Skyler's face fell, she was having such a good time, she didn't want to go. She looked pleadingly over to Aurora.
"Nope, we're leaving. Let's go," Aurora pressed, pulling Skyler up off the bed and out the door.
"Noooo, I don't want to do this anymore. Please don't make me," she begged. "I'm gonna quote the 10th doctor here," she cleared her throat, "I don't wanna go," she said in her best British accent.
Aurora shook her head. "You have cavities in your teeth right now that aren't going to get any better. If you let them sit, your teeth will eventually fall out. Do you want your teeth to fall out? There is no better time than the present to get this done, and I'd rather not be dragging you in to the office in 15 years for dentures, so yes, you're doing this. We are getting your face fixed."
Skyler flinched at her friend's choice of words, but stopped fighting. She did have a point. She trailed behind Aurora and followed her to the car. "You know just because I know this needs to be done doesn't make this any easier," Skyler mumbled.
Aurora laughed a little. "Okay, you're being dramatic. This won't even take that long, you only need a few fillings are you're done with this for a few months and you get a fresh start. Besides, I know you don't want holes in your teeth."
Skyler rolled her eyes. "Stop saying it like that, I know I need this done. I'm in the car with you, aren't I?"
Aurora nodded. "Good girl."
The ride to the office was rather silent. Skyler was sulking the entire time. She knew Aurora was right, and that's what made this harder because she didn't have an actual reason to be angry. She couldn't help it though, she was angry. She wasn't sure who she was angry at, but she was angry nevertheless.
Aurora didn't like it when Skyler got bitchy, so she sat there trying to think of a way to cheer her up.
"Skyler, what do you call a magical dog?"
"I don't care."
"But this is important."
Skyler rolled her eyes dramatically. "What do you call a magical dog?"
"A Labra-cadavera."
"That was lame, even for you," she said through a laugh.
"What's lame is getting your driver's license and then getting it revoked for being out at 2AM," Aurora shrugged.
"Hm... I'm kind of to blame for that one. I'm the one who wanted Waffle House."
Jeff pitched in from the driver's seat. "It's really sad that you got your license revoked over food."
"Shit happens," they both said.
After that they pulled into the office. Skyler felt her chest tighten. Aurora gave Skyler an encouraging grin.
"Stop looking at me with that perfect grin of yours, it's not fair," Skyler mumbled, crossing her arms.
"In retrospect it's probably fair. I do floss like 3 times a day," she shrugged. She had to lightly pull Skyler out of the car, but she did get her stubborn friend out.
Jeff walked ahead of them and opened the door, watching with amusement as Aurora had to quite literally drag Skyler in.
"Stop hitting me," Aurora complained, pulling Skyler in the direction of the door.
Skyler was smacking Aurora's arm in attempts to get away, not even caring that Jeff was watching at this point. "Noooooo," she whined. "Let me goooo, I don't wanna." Now she was putting all of her body weight towards the opposite direction of Aurora.
"I swear to god Skyler Catherine Hart if you don't stop fighting me I will pull you by your hair. Grow up and walk into this building with me or I'm forcing you," she threatened dangerously. It was a comical sight really, a tiny blonde girl in heals trying to manhandle a taller girl with purple hair into a building. Aurora had a certain dominance over her tougher looking friend that nobody quite understood but them. Aurora was the only person Skyler would ever let herself appear vulnerable to, and Aurora took it as her responsibility to take care of her friend. Skyler was complicated, but Aurora understood that complication well enough to handle her friend.
Skyler looked into Aurora's eyes, and there was a dangerousness in them that said she wasn't kidding. Skyler wasn't going to press her buttons to find out just how serious she was, so she stopped fighting Aurora and she lead her into the office. She was still scared and with that came a weak feeling. This was different from last time, she wasn't in pain anymore. In a way the pain gave her a reason to comply, but this time there wasn't a reason and she was scared. That's all she could focus on and it was overwhelming. She didn't want this to happen, but she knew that wasn't an option and that reality was frightening.
The trio walked into the waiting room, and a smiling Nick greeted them. "Hello lovelies," he started. He looked at Skyler. "I'll give you a little time to calm down, okay? You look tense. I have other things that need to be addressed." He then looked to Jeff lovingly. "Would you come with me, dear?" he asked sweetly.
Jeff's face paled. He didn't think this day would involve him. If he'd known he wouldn't have come here so willingly.
Nick sensed his unwillingness to move, so he walked over and snaked his arms around Jeff's waist and planted a chased kiss on his neck. "Don't be difficult, dear," he whispered in Jeff's neck.
That made Jeff shiver, from pleasure or fear he wasn't sure. Regardless, Nick started pushing him from behind so he'd move and Jeff complied helplessly.
Nick missed the groan that came from his daughter. Aurora was frustrated because she knew that Skyler having to wait would only make things worse for her friend. She turned and pointed a finger to Skyler. "Place your ass on the sofa and don't move it until directed otherwise, please and thank you."
Towards the back of the office, Nick had his husband's stubbornness to deal with.
"What? You didn't tell me- you tricked me!" Jeff protested.
Nick grinned fondly. "If I would have told you then you know you would have worried about it. We've tried that before and it kept you up all night tossing and turning. Not to mention your cute ass wouldn't have shown up today," he pointed out.
"I'm not mentally prepared for this," Jeff protested weakly.
"Oh Jeff, you've done this so many times before. This time isn't any different," Nick reasoned.
Jeff shook his head, "I don't wanna."
"Wow Jeff, you make a strong argument." He pushed Jeff into a room and gently pushed him down in the chair.
Jeff looked incredibly stressed out despite doing this countless times before. He was never able to shake the fearful feeling he had while in this situation, and this time was no better. Maybe worse. Though he still sat in the chair helplessly awaiting his torment.
"Stay," Nick directed, stepping away to wash his hands.
Jeff rolled his eyes and was almost tempted to flick Nick off at the reprimand.
Nick walked back over after scrubbing in and sat on his stool, putting a bib on Jeff and leaning his chair back. Jeff let out a childish whine and stuck out his bottom lip in a pout.
"Oh don't look at me like that, you're fine. You know this won't hurt you," Nick scolded lightly, adjusting the light and pulling the tray of tools closer.
"Doesn't mean I like it," he mumbled. He felt his heartbeat increase and his chest tighten when he saw Nick pick up two tools.
"Open up, lovely. Please," Nick coaxed.
Jeff shook his head stubbornly.
Nick sighed again, setting down the tools. "Why not? What are you hiding? You must be if you're so unwilling to open your mouth for me even though you know I won't hurt you."
Jeff looked like he was about to cry. It wasn't Nick's fault, this situation was just stress inducing. "I... Um... I haven't been flossing like I should and I don't want you to get mad," he whispered.
Nick grinned fondly. "Jeffery, do you really think I'm going to get mad at you for that? I'm not going to scold you, I promise. We all get a little lazy every now and again, okay? It's fine. Now that you know I'm not going to get mad, would you please open up for your sweet husband?" he asked, picking up the tools again.
Jeff begrudgingly opened his mouth up, knowing he wasn't going to win this argument.
"Thank you," Nick praised, going in and starting to clean Jeff's teeth with a hand scalar. "Why do you always get so worked up over this? There isn't even that much to clean, this won't take long."
Jeff didn't like the sound the tool made, it always made him cringe. He opted to close his eyes because watching made him feel sick.
While Nick was cleaning Jeff's teeth he noticed that around the bottom right area there was more to clean, and Jeff got more jumpy. He made a mental note to check back at that area during the exam. From what he was seeing it looked like Jeff wasn't cleaning that area properly. That became even more evident when it started to bleed, meaning Jeff wasn't flossing in that area either. Nick frowned, there had to be something wrong. He took out the scaler and paused for a moment.
"Jeffy, have you been feeling any pain? It looks like you haven't been wanting to clean this area properly," Nick asked gently.
Jeff quickly shook his head, not even opening his eyes. His cheeks were burning red and he was on the brink of bursting into tears.
Nick sighed, of course his husband was going to be stubborn about this. He finished up with that part and quickly polished Jeff's teeth.
Jeff calmed down, convincing himself that Nick forgot about what he was seeing. Though, he knew that was wishful thinking.
"Okay, we are almost done. I'm going to floss your teeth really quick and then I'll do the exam," Nick explained. Jeff was fine when Nick was working on the left side, but he felt him tense up when he got to the left side. Even more so when he started making his way towards the bottom area. When he popped the floss between 29 and 30 Jeff flinched and Nick knew something was wrong, he couldn't deny it now. He quickly finished and let Jeff close his mouth.
Jeff laid there with his eyes shut tightly and afraid to move. He knew he was in trouble. He lied, not even managing to do so convincingly, and was now caught.
"Jeff, open your eyes and look at me."
Jeff tentatively opened his eyes, looking like a child awaiting a scolding.
"What was that?" he asked in regards to the flinching incident.
"What do you mean?" Jeff asked innocently with red cheeks.
"Jeffery, you know exactly what I mean. You're bleeding in the bottom right area. I would ask why you stopped flossing there, but judging by your reaction I know why. You haven't been able to brush well either. I suggest not lying to me, your teeth are telling the story for you anyway."
Jeff tried to make himself smaller, if that was possible. He looked away from Nick again, suddenly finding something on the other side of the room more interesting.
"Fine, don't talk. Open up, I need to see what's wrong."
That got a reaction out of Jeff as he looked back to the tools in Nick's hand.
"Are you going to hurt me?" he panicked.
Nick quickly set the tools down again. "What? No, why would I want to hurt you? I've never hurt you, Jeff."
"B-because you're angry," Jeff said in a voice that was barley audible.
Nick sighed, not frustrated, just awestruck at how paranoid Jeff got when it came to these situations. "I will never hurt you, honey. I'm not angry. I won't lie, I'm a bit frustrated that you hid your pain from me, but not angry. Even if I was I would never hurt you, and I know deep down you know that. Now please stop listening to that voice in the back of your head that thinks I'm some kind of monster. I love you."
That seemed to drive away any paranoia Jeff had and he relaxed. "I love you too. I'm sorry for hiding this from you, I just got embarrassed. My tooth feels weird and hurts to chew on... Or really to do anything with. Then I got scared that if I wasn't carful I'd mess it up more. I don't know why this happened, I thought I was doing everything right," Jeff admitted.
Nick nodded in understanding. "Awe, baby. Don't be embarrassed. Stuff happens. I think I know what happened, will you let me see? I won't hurt you I promise."
Jeff opened his mouth at Nick's request, not as scared anymore.
Nick went in to get a closer look as soon as Jeff opened his mouth. "Hm... Okay. Jeffy this isn't your fault. You just need this filling replaced. Composites need to be replaced every so often anyway, this was pretty unavoidable. It lasted quite a while," he explained, taking the tools out again.
Jeff frowned. "That's dumb," he mumbled. "I don't want this to happen again. Can't you use something that lasts longer?"
Nick thought for a moment. "Amalgam lasts longer, but it's ugly and I'd hate putting that in your pretty little mouth. I don't like that type anyway. I can use a ceramic inlay. I don't know why I didn't use that the first time. It'll look pretty and will last a really long time. They're more expensive, but you're my husband so I guess you don't have to worry about that, huh?" he babbled.
Jeff looked to his hands sheepishly. "I don't wanna have anything done today."
Nick frowned. "Jeff honey, you're in pain and I'm not letting you leave in that state. Uh... It takes time to make the inlay though. It's different from a regular filling and you'd have to come back. So I'll just give you a temporary filling today but you'll have to be carful. You can't chew on that side of your mouth... But I don't think you've been doing that anyway. Gosh, how'd I not notice?"
"Because I'm a little too good at hiding stuff from you," Jeff teased.
Nick grinned. "That's not a good habit to start, young man." He over leaned and kissed Jeff on the lips with a muffled, "asshole."
After that Nick did the procedure so Jeff wouldn't leave in pain. It took a little while, but Jeff was okay with it. He was only mildly stubborn. After everything was done he let Jeff leave to go get the girls. Only, Jeff didn't return with them.
Nick looked to Jeff, confused as he cleaned up. "Where are they?" Nick asked.
Jeff's face was pale. "Not where we left them."
A/N: *hides from angry readers* I know my track record for updating after cliff hangers isn't all that great but I swear you guys will get another chapter soon. If I take too long feel free to send me a PM chewing me out for it. Review and I'll update faster :D
Ps. Seriously, please don't hate me. If you guys murder me then you'll never get an update ;D